From the left, Bellefontaine Intermediate School representatives, Sara Core, fourth-grade, Krista Adelsberger, co-principal, Jennifer Purton, third-grade, and Lynda Holycross, co-principal, hold a banner Monday recognizing the school as a 2014 SOAR Award for High Progress during a ceremony at the Greater Columbus Convention Center. The annual awards, presented by Battelle for Kids and State Superintendent of Schools Dr. Richard Ross, are designed to acknowledge Ohio schools and districts participating in Battelle for Kids’ SOAR school improvement collaborative for their academic progress in multiple grade levels and subjects. To be a recipient of the 2014 SOAR Award for High Progress, Bellefontaine Intermediate School was among the top schools of all participating SOAR schools, based on 2014 data in mathematics and reading. Schools must have a minimum of six indicators (subjects on the Local Report Card) and be among the top schools for showing above-average student growth. (PHOTO | BELLEFONTAINE SCHOOLS)

Korean War veteran Okey Allman talks Tuesday with his great-grandson, Kagen Peoples, a kindergarten student at Riverside Schools, during the school’s ceremony honoring veterans and their families. A breakfast preceded the ceremony. The assembly also was streamed live online so that Patsy Crouch, the widow of former area resident Lt. Gilbert Louis Mitchell, who is missing in action from the Vietnam War, could watch the ceremony from her Colorado home. (PHOTO | ALEXIS SNOW)

REFLECTION

Student Cheyenne Hill examines the Purple Heart of Sgt. Gary Yoakam, retired 101st Airborne U.S. Army veteran and Indian Lake High School graduate, Tuesday during his Veterans Day visit at Indian Lake Middle School. The retired veteran earned the Purple Heart after losing his left hand in an ambush attack while serving in Iraq. Sgt. Yoakam shared with students how being bullied at a young age after his mother passed away and slipping grades led him to eventually enlist, and related that a special teacher recognized his potential and set him on the right path. (PHOTO | INDIAN LAKE SCHOOLS)

Indian Lake artist Suzanne Chapman, left, of GiGi’s Singular Sensations, shows photos of her illuminated works to Bellefontaine resident Katie Amidon during the Logan County Art League’s Art Faire on Sunday afternoon at the Bellefontaine High School. Ms. Chapman uses decoupage to adorn all manner of items, including mannequin torsos that can be lighted. She was one of about two dozen artists with items for sale at the annual pre-holiday sale. (EXAMINER PHOTO | REUBEN MEES)

Riverside High School National Honor Society Chapter inducted the following new members Monday, from the left, first row: Laraleigh Kerns, Jessica Brandt, Aubrey Short, Maria Renteria and Taylor Stevens; and second row: Lauryn Davis, Ross Stevens, Dakota Bollinger, Nicholas Smith and Aubrey Stephens. The inductees were tapped in their classrooms, congratulated, and then escorted to a ceremony to celebrate with their parents. The members were not aware of the honor prior Monday; they were surprised when they received their medallions. The official Logan County NHS tapping is at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Benjamin Logan Schools. During this ceremony, the new inductees will officiallybecome members of the National Honor Society. (PHOTO | RIVERSIDE SCHOOLS)

U.S. Army soldier Josie Corwin and her veteran grandfather Jerry Corwin are seen during the Indian Lake High School FCCLA’s 4th Annual Freedom Breakfast and program Monday morning after they placed a white table cloth on an empty table symbolizing the soldiers who never came home from conflict. Dozens of local veterans attended the event honoring the 50th anniversary of the beginning of the Vietnam War. Local Navy veteran Denny Brown narrated the ceremony and included a picture of his friend, Lt. Gilbert Lewis Mitchell, who was shot down in Vietnam in March of 1968, but never found. Guests were entertained by the Meistersingers and ILHS choir. (PHOTO | INDIAN LAKE SCHOOLS)

The Examiner went deep into the heart of Texas with four members of the Bellefontaine Chapter Order of the Eastern Star 459, including Susan Corwin of Rushsylvania, Ohio Grand Representative of Texas who was presented an honorary membership in the Texas Grand Chapter; Deputy Grand Matron Becky Meyer, Worthy Matron Ellen Hammond and Carole Wilson. The quartet traveled to Waco, Texas, for the Texas Grand Chapter Session and took in the land- scape of Indiana, Illinois, Missouri and Arkansas on the cross country road trip. In Waco, they enjoyed seeing the cattle drives come to life through the series of bronzes in Waco Park and the former toll bridge over the Brazos River.